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Monday, October 02, 2006

Squeaking out one more...

If only the kitchen would come back together as fast as it went down this afternoon! The demolition started today and I didn't realize just how often I wash my hands/dishes in the sink! I'm really going to miss the accessibility of that. So far, so good - but we still have quite a while to go. Since I am a glutten for punishment and because the installer called and said they were not going to arrive for a few more hours, I jumped at the chance to make one final recipe early this morning that we could re-heat for dinner tonight.

Because I was not very prepared, I had to make a few changes to the recipe, Sausage and Vegetable Deep-Dish Pizza, so as to use ingredients we had on hand. Before we get to the changes, I did have to knead up some pizza dough. Just a basic dough - although, I did add some dried rosemary and oregano to beef up the flavor a bit. The dough was soft and smooth in just about 6 minutes since I kneaded it by hand. The original recipe called for cooking down zucchini and mushrooms for the filling - but instead, I chopped up some fresh broccoli and steamed it just until crisp tender. Hot Italian turkey sausage is then crumbled and cooked until browned. I mixed in the bright green broccoli and some of the Spicy Pizza Sauce that I made and froze a couple weeks ago in case we would need it for the next few weeks. When the dough has risen, it is pressed into and up the sides of a metal baking dish. The chunky and spicy sauce mixture is spread on top and in the oven it went for about 20 minutes to get the crust going and warm the filling. Once the timer went off, we scattered a generous mixture of shredded mozzarella and sharp Parmesan over the top and back in the oven it went to finish browning the crust and to melt the cheeses.Be sure to watch the time as this bakes - at about 10 minutes our crust was perfect, but if we would have waited the extra 5 minutes per the recipe, it would have been overdone. It was so hard to sit and wait the 10 minutes for it to settle down before cutting into it! With a pretty thick crust, this is not a pizza for you if you only like pizzas with a thinner crust. The herbs in the dough brought just enough zip to the crust to compliment the spicy flavor of the filling. While I don't necessarily think of broccoli when it comes to pizza and I'm sure it would have been great with the suggested vegetables, we both thought it actually paired pretty well! It has been a long time since we had a deep dish pizza and this was quite filling being cut into 6 large squares. I can definitely see us making this one again once the kitchen is back in one piece!

9 comments:

As the survivor of a 13 month remodel, 7 months of which were with a temp-kitchen in my living room and 2 months of which were with no kitchen and no other rooms except the master bath and bedroom, I can really say I feel your upcomming pain! Sadly the demolition is always fast but the rebuilding very slow. I found the lack of sink the hardest part, followed by the lack of counters and the general confusion of where things were. I hope the remodel goes quickly...

I made this on Sunday and it was great, I also made some changes. I used an orange bell pepper and onion along with turkey bratwurst. I also made a whole wheat pizza crust...sounds like I changed quite a bit, but I didn't stray too far from the original concept. I would definitely make this again.

I always feel bad when domolitions start as i usually miss my old kitchen once it is finished however it always feels better especially when you wash your hands for the first time in your new sink and start cooking.

Joe,I suppose one just can't keep a good guy down. How great it is that you capitalized on the workers' delay by making something delightfully filling and tasty for you and your beloved. I do think, though, that you must be a bit of a masochist. If I had had those gorgeous scents emanating from the oven so soon after preparing the meal, I'd be a wee bit misty-eyed knowing that it'd be a while before I could prepare and cook like that again :-)I hope the remodel goes smoothly and that the kitchen comes out exactly as you and Jeff hope. Eric and I have our fingers crossed for you.

I hope your remodel goes quick! I'm sure your kitchen is going to be fabulous! Did you take before pics so we can see the before and after?I would love to hear about your shopping experiences, how you find recipes, and what are your must haves in your pantry and freezer. See, there are a few things to write about while the kitchen's being remodeled!